Fire department retrieves hockey nets from unsafe ice as temperatures fluctuate

St. Thomas Firefighters conducted a training exercise to retrieve hockey nets and practice working with unsafe ice on Feb. 27, 2025. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

After a warm spell last week and another expected over the new few days, first responders are warning of unsafe ice conditions.

“Due to the weather change and the instability of the ice, stay off retention ponds, lakes, rivers, and small bodies of water as the ice is unpredictable,” said Chief Dave Gregory of the St. Thomas Fire Department.

Middlesex OPP Constable Jeff Hare also took to social media this week when the temperatures started to climb above freezing for consecutive days.

“You can see a bit of water on the ice right now. What we’re seeing right now, obviously, with the warmer temperatures, the ice is starting to melt,” said Hare. “We’ve had a lot of people out here the past couple months skating and having a blast, but that’s changed. We always say, ‘No ice is safe ice.’”

One of the biggest fears for first responders is that people will try to retrieve the hockey nets that have been left on the ice all winter. Trying to go out and get an expensive net could cost someone their life.

This week, the St. Thomas Fire Department went out to retrieve some of those nets.

“We use that as a training scenario,” said Gregory. “We had information there were nets on the retention pond. It was a good chance for our crews to get out there, do a little bit of training and retrieve the nets off the ice and get them back so somebody doesn’t go out there.”

Gregory said after a freezing winter for months, the ice is starting to thin.

“There are spots in Lake Margaret where this is the thickest we’ve seen the ice,” said Gregory. “This was a great winter for those sports, but like most of our southwestern Ontario winters, you get those cold spells and then you get the quick warm ups. We just don’t want anybody going in.”